Security
by dutchtulips
Summary: SusanReed. Companion piece to my fic 'The Only Thing', taking place about a week later. After the engagement, Reed and Sue share a romantic moment on top of the Empire State Building. Kinda fluffy.


**SD - **Stan Lee, Marvel, Twentieth Century Fox... haven't we been through this? I sure do wish I owned Ioan Gruffudd, though... that'd be damn peachy. ;-) 

**AN - **Hey, people! I'm back again! That didn't take long, did it? What can I say, I've been bitten by the bug. ;-) Plus, I thought it would be fun to write a companion piece to "The Only Thing", so that's what I'm doing. Also, I was in a major fluff mood when I wrote this, so this fic has got "WAFFY ALERT" and "PWP!" stamped all over it. Enjoy! ;-)

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**Security**

-dutchtulips-

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"Reed, you are really surprising me these days."

Susan Storm let out a peaceful sigh as she leaned against the railing of the Empire State Building's observation deck. A gentle breeze ruffled her blonde locks and she turned from the view momentarily, an amused smile playing across her lips.

Reed was standing there, just inches behind her, looking quite chipper himself. "Oh?" He asked. "How's that?"

"Well, first there was the proposal on the Circle Line last week, and now _this._" Sue swept out her arm, indicating the distant horizon. "You bring me up to the top of the Empire State Building, just as a date!" Her amused grin grew wider. "Have you been trying extra-hard to impress me lately?"

He smiled, and snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. "Yes," he replied. "Is it working?"

"Yes," Susan said, and laughed. "It's just so whimsical of you, Reed. As a matter of fact, I haven't even heard you mumbling equations under your breath tonight."

Reed rolled his eyes, but he was still grinning. "Oh... just enjoy the view, why don't you?"

Sue laughed again as she turned back towards the railing, and a surge of love flooded into Reed. Her laugh was a rich, warm sound that he'd never been able to resist the entire time he'd known her. As they stared silently at the nighttime landscape of the city, she moved closer to him, resting her body against his.

"Lights... and more lights," she said quietly, leaning back. "But I like those lights. Now."

Reed nodded in understanding, knowing perfectly well what Sue had meant by _now._ "So do I," he said softly. He paused for a long moment, considering his next words. "Are you... have you been feeling all right, since...?"

Sue turned to look at him, her eyes softening, and she reached up and wrapped her wrists around his neck. "I'm okay. Still a little... tired, I guess." Pause. "I'm more worried about you, though... Victor nearly killed you, freezing you to death..."

Reed felt her tremble in his grasp, and he tightened his arms around her, ever so gently. "I know, I know," he said softly. "But I'm fine, I really am. The nitrogen didn't hurt me."

"I just hated seeing you... that way. It was so scary," Sue whispered, lowering her eyes. "I thought I was going to lose you, before I had the chance to tell you..."

Reed bit his lip, feeling guilty for bringing the subject up. Jarring Sue's fearful memories was the last thing he'd wanted to do, especially since he'd brought her out tonight to have a good time. "Hey," he whispered back, tenderly taking hold of her chin and tilting her face upwards, to lock eyes with her. "I'm here, Sue. Right here. And I'm not going anywhere."

She stared at him for several moments, and then, at last, she smiled, the cheerful beam from earlier that evening back on her face. "But I will," Sue said playfully, and the next second, had vanished completely, clothes and all.

Reed arched an eyebrow at that. "You've been practicing."

Moments later, he felt her invisible form wriggle out of his embrace, and from somewhere out in the void, Sue replied, "Now I see _you're _the impressed one."

He turned around, trying to determine where her voice was coming from. It was hard to pinpoint; the observation deck was moderately crowded tonight. "Okay, I admit it, you've topped me... Satisfied?"

She laughed. "Come find me, Dr. Richards."

Reed took a few steps forward. "In the middle of all these people? I don't know if you want me to do that..."

Again, Sue's voice came from yet another direction. "Sure I do," she said vivaciously, knowing exactly what he had in mind.

He looked reluctant. "Aw, come on, Sue..." Reed began to protest, but after several long moments, and she hadn't replied, he relented.

"Okay, all right..."

Reed raised his left arm, flexing his fingers a bit, and then concentrated for a moment. Slowly his arm began to elongate, as if something had grabbed onto it and was pulling across the observation deck. As Reed extended his arm farther and farther, a few people on the deck began to take notice, some staring at his arm in shock, others acting as if it were just the norm, even giving Reed a nod in acknowledgment.

He waved his hand around methodically, every few minutes clutching at the empty air, hoping to end the game of hide and seek and find where his Invisible Woman was concealing herself.

Twisting his arm around one of the telescopes, which were lined up against the railing, Reed's hand, at long last, gripped onto what felt like an elbow. Immediately he knew it was the right one when he saw nothing, and recognized Susan's surprised yelp. As he walked forward, his arm simultaneously retracting, Sue slowly reappeared, smiling modestly.

"Darn," Sue said as her fiancé came closer. "You found me."

Reed was now near enough that his arm had returned to its normal length. "I'm getting better at this game," he replied, smirking.

Sue giggled softly, and leaned back against the deck railing. "Don't worry, I'll figure out a way to make it tougher."

She fell silent after that, crossing her arms loosely as she rested against the balustrade, glancing over her shoulder at the view every so often. Reed leaned next to her, staring out at the outlines of the skyscrapers for a long time before finally turning his eyes back onto her. His gaze fell slightly, to Sue's arms, which were draped across her stomach. Her left hand rested lazily on her hip, where the gasket engagement ring stood out vastly against her other fingers.

Almost in a daze, Reed reached over and gently took hold of Sue's hand, staring long and hard at the gasket. It was a long time before he finally looked up, which was at her, and found Sue gazing straight back at him.

Smiling serenely, clutching onto the hand that was holding hers, she said, "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh... oh, nothing," he said absently, lowering their hands. "Just... well... I didn't think about it before, but... engagement rings usually have diamonds, don't they."

Sue already had an idea of what was in Reed's mind, but she simply shrugged. "Sometimes."

A guilty look filled Reed's eyes again. "I didn't even think of what you might have wanted. I know the gasket is so unconventional. But I thought..."

Sue clapped a hand over her fiancé's mouth to silence his babbling. As she did so, his flesh seemed to melt around her fingers, and she nearly laughed. "Reed, stop. Listen." She started to smile as she withdrew her hand, watching Reed's cheeks mold back to their original shape. "What did you tell me, the night you asked me to marry you? That you found the gasket _from space._

"That space mission changed our lives," she went on, her voice growing more tender as she did so. "Not just because of the cosmic storm, but because of _you._ _You _were the reason we went up there, after _you_ came back into my life. And it's the same reason why _you _will never leave me again."

Amazed, Reed stared into her eyes, which were now sparkling. Finally recovering his voice, he replied, almost in a whisper, "That's exactly how I felt about it when I decided to propose." His arms slipped around her again. "I found the gasket in the box I'd brought back from space, and I thought about how that cloud brought us together again..."

Sue beamed. "Great minds think alike." Pause. "Reed... I don't need diamonds. I don't want diamonds. I only want _you_. And, as sappy as this might sound... You give me a security that I can't get from money, or prestige. For better or worse, it's true. And..." She looked down a moment, feeling an unusual, yet comforting, sensation. "... You're proving it right now."

Grinning, Reed glanced down as well, where he had been elongating his arms once more, wrapping them gently around Sue's waist over and over again. They had begun to overlap, resembling the elastic, fleshy ropes that they were.

"How?" He inquired, looking amused. "Because I've turned into the human rubber band?"

"No..." She replied softly. "Because you love me. I don't know how it is you ever believed there was anything more important than that. When you were 'happy for me and Victor.' "

Reed chuckled. "I'm trying to pretend now that I never said that."

"And besides," Sue went on, grinning facetiously, "Do you know how great it is, knowing that you're the one person who can evade the famous Reed Richards' scientific defenses? The only thing in his head that isn't being assaulted by science equations?"

"They used to do that to you. But never again."

She stared wordlessly at him for a long moment, her eyes filling with intense emotion, and suddenly it was as if they were back at the beginning, starting anew, and that she was in Reed's arms for the very first time. Then the next moment, Sue bent her neck and placed her lips warmly and firmly against his.

Reed reciprocated, kissing his fiancée deeply, fervently. As their bodies pressed into each other's, he felt Sue's hands sliding up his chest, and only then, after opening one eye, he noticed that she had gone invisible once more.

"You can never resist, can you?" He mumbled against her mouth.

"Look who's talking," her voice replied, as she phased just slightly back into view. "We probably look like an awfully strange couple to all of these people." Sue was beaming.

"Do you want to look even stranger? I could probably stretch down the entire side of the building. We wouldn't have to wait for another elevator."

She stared at Reed, incredulous. "All right... who _are _you, and why are you possessing Reed?"

He smiled amusedly. "You know, I've been getting that a lot lately. Last week Johnny said that, too."

"Well, if _he _noticed..."

Reed pulled her closer, which was difficult considering his arms were still twisted around her multiple times. "Well, now it's my turn to be sappy, because... it's just... that... I've nearly lost you several times now. Two years ago, then on the space mission, and _then _last week..." He paused. "I just... I wouldn't want to regret anything. I love you like crazy. And because of that, I want to take more chances. I want to do that with _you, _more than with anything else."

Sue, fully tangible once more, gazed at him ardently. "You do?" She whispered.

"Yes."

"And you're sure you and your calculator mind can do that?" She wanted to know, a smile creeping back into her face. "You're really sure? And you're really going to let 'Mr. Fantastic' come out more often?" A jaunty glow filled Sue's eyes.

He nodded, amused at her choice of words. "Of course. Yes."

"Well, then..." Sue draped her arms back around his neck. "Reed... will you marry me?"

He grinned at her question and, as he embraced Sue tighter, into a passionate kiss, answered, "Yes. Yes, I will."

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**el fin**

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End file.
